“Come now – aren’t you a bit old for that kind of thing? Eye patches and pirates, walking the plank – that’s all kid stuff.”

Ned stood on the pier, back to his best friend, staring irritably across a bay spiked with buoys and dinghies, and the occasional parasailer. When would Luke take him seriously – about the gang, the proposed (and rather brilliant) con, about life in general?

“I’ve got a real chance here, and I’m not backing down – unless you plan to turn me in,” he snarled, with a threatening glare over his shoulder.